This invention is directed to a toy wherein a second member is supported on a first member and upon rotation of the second member with respect to the first member the second member becomes dislodged from the first member.
Spinning toys have been known for centuries and have been fascinating items for children for play purposes. Toys which are capable of rapidly spinning can be imparted with sufficient angular momentum such that their rotation maintains them in an upward position on a hard surface and the like. Because of the manual dexterity required to initiate the spinning of these types of tops, they are generally not suitable for play for small tots and the like. To overcome the manual dexterity problem, tops geared for the toddlers and the like which have a pumpable plunger are known. These allow the child to move the plunger up and down to impart sufficient angular momentum to the top in order to maintain it spinning for a period of time.
For toddlers and the like many toys have been developed which instill eye-hand coordination into the user of the toy. These normally incorporate multiple pieces which fit together by interaction of one piece with the other. These toys in their more preferred form include coupling units of different geometric shapes such that the child soon learns that a square peg does not fit in a round hole, but in fact a round peg fits in a round hole. This helps teach the child concepts of shapes, space, geometry and the like.
Certain top type toys are known which incorporate both a spinning motion and requiring assembly of components. In this category are U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,068,053 and 2,739,415. Unfortunately, the tops described in these patents are geared to the older child having certain manual dexterity skills. Insofar as these tops require activation of the spinning motion by pulling a string or the like, this type of toy is precluded from use by the small child who lacks the necessary manual dexterity skills.
Because of the fascination of just about all age levels of children with spinning toys and the educational values of the type of toy which requires proper placement of parts with respect to one another to build an object, it is deemed that a toy geared to the toddler age group which incorporated both the spinning principle and the structure principle would be highly utilitarian. Tops and the like would not fulfill this need because of the above noted manual dexterity required in the manipulating and winding of strings and the like. Further, the known construction type toys suitable for small children, normally have very loose or sloppy fitting connections and thus are not susceptible to spinning by the child.